., a cnn special anchored by erin burnett and chris cuomo in new york and kris ychristiane amanp rome. >> i want to say happy birthday to teddy and joseph, your 6-year-old twins. >> it's a big day back home. thanks for that. >> a big day in the berman household. that is it for "early start." >> "starting buoyapoint with so o'brian" starts right now. >>> welcome, everybody. our starting point this morning, the pope's final day as head of the catholic church. in just about seven hours the office of the pope will be empty when benedict xvi is officially in retirement. this morning he blessed the cardinals who will pick his successor. >> translator: may he bless all of you in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit. >> we're live in rome this morning with the historic moment and what it means for the church. we'll be talking with monsignor rick hilgartner of the u.s. conference of catholic bishops. senior simone campbell will join us and father edward beck is our guest. and time is running out. two proposals meant to avoid drastic spending cuts but they're both expected to